Washington Health Policy Week in Review is a weekly newsletter that offers selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat.

National health care spending increased 3.9 percent in 2011 over the previous year, the same as in 2010 and up slightly from 3.8 percent in 2009—levels that are the lowest in the 52 years that federal actuaries have tracked such growth rates.

The federal government could save $1 trillion over a decade through a series of actions limiting health care spending, according to a report recently released by a 16-member commission organized by The Commonwealth Fund.

In what could give new leverage to those who want to avoid deep Medicare cuts as part of any deficit package later this year, the Obama administration released a report last week showing that per capita spending growth in the program increased by just 0.4 percent in fiscal 2012.

The coordinated care model envisioned in the health care law continues to gain popularity as Health and Human Services officials announced last week that 106 more Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) have been formed, bringing to as many as 4 million the number of beneficiaries who will be part of such groups.

Mission

The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.